Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Holmcroft Surgery on 3 May 2016. Overall the practice is rated as good.

Our key findings across all the areas we inspected were as follows:

• There was an open and transparent approach to safety and an effective system in place for reporting and recording significant events. Staff understood and fulfilled their responsibilities to raise concerns and to report incidents and near misses. Information about safety was recorded, monitored, reviewed and addressed.
• Risks to patients and staff were assessed.
• Staff assessed patients’ needs and delivered care in line with current evidence based guidance. Staff had been trained to provide them with the skills, knowledge and experience to deliver effective care and treatment.
• Patients said they were treated with dignity and respect and they were involved in their care and decisions about their treatment.
• Information about services and how to complain was available. Improvements were made to the quality of care as a result of complaints and concerns.
• Patients said they found it easy to make an appointment and usually saw the same GP, which helped provide them with continuity of care. Urgent appointments were available the same day.
• The practice was easily accessible, had good facilities, and was well equipped to treat patients and meet their needs.
• There was a clear leadership structure and staff felt supported by management and enjoyed their work. The practice proactively sought feedback from staff and patients, which it acted on.
• The provider was aware of and complied with the requirements of the duty of candour.
• The areas where the provider should make improvements are:
• Implement a system to follow up and document outcomes for children who had not attended hospital appointments.
• Implement a system to better inform the out of hour’s service about patients who have ‘do not attempt resuscitation’ (DNAR) and about patients’ palliative care status.
• Improve the system of documenting test results for patients on a shared care basis on high risk medicines.
• Improve the system of acting on medicine alerts to ensure that all relevant patients are effectively reviewed.
• Improve the identification of patients who are also carers.
• Secure all filing cabinets containing confidential medical records outside opening hours.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice